Hearts have implored the authorities to deal with last weekend's pitch invasion by Celtic supporters "with the seriousness it demands" as they appeared to take a dig at Hoops boss Martin O’Neill for his "highly irresponsible" comments.
The Tynecastle club also revealed that they have contacted the Scottish Football Association and Scottish Professional Football League to outline their concerns surrounding the "premature ending of the match".
After Callum Osmand scored in the eighth minute of added time to make it 3-1 to Celtic in last Saturday’s title decider, hundreds of supporters streamed on to the pitch, with several seen approaching Hearts players.
Celtic boss O’Neill appeared to downplay the seriousness of the situation in an interview on talkSport on Monday when he said "I think it’s nonsense" in response to Hearts’ claims that the pitch invasion had embarrassed Scottish football.
The 74-year-old also said there was "a lot of hyperbole" about the way the situation had been portrayed and refused to condemn those who entered the field.
"We are aware of highly irresponsible comments made publicly this week, which appear to seek to defend those who entered the pitch on Saturday and undermine the gravity of the situation," Hearts said in a statement released on Wednesday afternoon.
"Those remarks carry dangerous implications, and we call upon the football authorities to ensure that this matter is addressed with the seriousness it demands, and with the full cooperation of all involved."
Tony Bloom, a minority investor, had claimed on talkSport earlier on Wednesday that the "Hearts players were in danger, one or two were assaulted, it was completely unacceptable".
The Edinburgh club did not clarify in their latest update whether they felt there had been any alleged assaults on their players.
"As previously noted, the club is investigating events before, during and after the match, and will offer Police Scotland our full support as they continue with their enquiries," the statement added.
Osmand’s goal was scored before the minimum indicated eight minutes of added time had been completed, and the match did not restart after the pitch invasion, raising questions about whether it had been abandoned.
The SPFL said on Monday: "Given the speculation about the conclusion of the game, we would like to make clear that, prior to awarding the trophy, we were informed by the match referee that the match had ended and had not been abandoned."
Hearts have demanded answers on the matter, however. The previous weekend in the Czech Republic, Slavia Prague had their match against city rivals Sparta Prague forfeited after it was abandoned in the seventh minute of added time while they led 3-2.
"We have written to the SFA and SPFL setting out our observations and questions regarding the circumstances surrounding the premature ending of the match, and expressing our concern that a troubling precedent has been set whereby a pitch invasion can effectively determine the duration of a football match, rather than the match officials," Hearts said.
"We have asked them for a prompt response to the points we have raised."
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